Why Justin Duggar's Engagement Is Raising Eyebrows

In case you don't watch TLC, allow us to fill you in on the Duggars. The Duggars are a very large and religious family from Arkansas. And when we say large, we mean large. In fact, familial size in kind of the Duggars' claim to fame. In 2008, parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar landed a prime slot in TLC and filled it with a show called 19 Kids and Counting, which chronicled the lives of the enormous fam.

It's safe to say that a reality show about a family of 21 will come with some drama. Throughout the years, viewers watched as the oldest Duggars left the nest, got married, and had their own families. Some of them broke away from their strict religious upbringing and embarked on more laid back journeys that involved (gasp) non-virgin cocktails and laidback dress codes (paging Jill Duggar). Eventually, 19 Kids and Counting got canceled in 2015 due to a sex abuse controversy involving the eldest sibling, Josh Duggar.

A spin-off called Counting On followed the cancelation, and the show chronicles the eldest kids' journeys into adulthood. The newest Duggar to reach a milestone is Justin (number 14 to be exact), when in November 2020, he celebrated his birthday by getting engaged to Texas native Claire Spivey, 19. Read on to find out why some fans think the news is a little odd.

Speaking to Us Weekly in November 2020, Justin Duggar announced his engagement to Claire Spivey. "There is nothing comparable to finding the one you are meant to spend your life with," he said. "We know we have found that in each other."

That's all well and good, but fans of the show had a slightly different outlook, noting how Justin proposed to Claire during a weekend celebration for his 18th birthday. "Justin just turned 18, he seems to live with the Spiveys, getting engaged literally the moment he became legal," one Redditor wrote, "It might be something as innocuous as 'Justin and Claire almost kissed at the barbecue' but I do think something took place to put this on warp speed." Mind you, kissing before marriage is strongly discouraged by the Duggars. One Twitter user claimed a Duggar "blocked them" on Instagram for asking questions, writing, "Justin Duggar literally just turned 18 yesterday and announced today that he's engaged to the 19 year old he has been 'courting' for over a year so I pointed this out and asked when they really got engaged and... blocked."

People thought it was odd, not just because of the couple's young age, but also because they'd only made their relationship public a couple of months before they announced their engagement. As for Justin and Claire, they seem happy. "Claire has a lot of good qualities, and I can sit here and tell you all of them...," he said. "I'm so blessed to have her in my life."